“Nearly 500 thousand Syrians have returned to the safe zones Türkiye has formed since 2016 when it launched its cross-border operations in the face of the aggravating humanitarian tragedy in Syria. We support our strategy of holding the migration beyond the border with projects that encourage voluntary return,” Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan noted that around 50 thousand families had been settled thus far in the houses built in Syria and that Türkiye planned to increase the number of briquette houses to 100 thousand.

“We have been carrying out aid projects not only in Syria but in many parts of the world”

Describing it as a humanitarian responsibility to open both the borders and the hearts to those forcefully displaced from their homeland, Erdoğan drew attention to Türkiye’s humanitarian aid policies that rejected any discrimination based on religion, language or race, and said: “With this understanding, we have been carrying out aid and assistance projects not only in Syria but in many parts of the world. With a wide spectrum of activities, we have been standing with our friends in many places of Africa and the Balkans throughout the years.”

Drawing attention to Türkiye’s status as the top donor of humanitarian aid globally in every respect, Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye continued its humanitarian aid operations without interruption across vast geography extending from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Bangladesh to Palestine, Yemen to Ukraine.

Highlighting that Türkiye’s humanitarian relief activities across Syria reach about 6 million people, Erdoğan said: “Nearly 500 thousand Syrians have returned to the safe zones Türkiye has formed since 2016 when it launched its cross-border operations in the face of the aggravating humanitarian tragedy in Syria. We support our strategy of holding the migration beyond the border with projects that encourage voluntary return.” (ILKHA)